Samsung Promo Leverages March Madness

Samsung is looking to capture some of the insanity of March Madness by working with sports media company SB Nation on a social networking and advertising promotion that lasts through the NCAA Tournament.

"Samsung TV clearly recognizes the power and passion of sports fans and we have the most passionate fans," David Borstein, vice president of sales for SB Nation, tells Marketing Daily. "[Our product] lives at the intersection of social media and sports."

For the four-week promotion, Samsung's TV division is blanketing SB Nation's NCAA section and its tournament hub with banner ads, including takeovers of NCAA team pages and sponsored content related to the tournament. In addition, the companies have sponsored a "Tweetstakes," giving SB Nation readers an opportunity to win a trip to the NCAA basketball finals in Houston by tweeting a picture of themselves in their team's colors, clothing and face paint. (Tweeters had to include the hashtag #SamsungTV to be eligible for the sweepstakes.) Samsung also had a presence on SB Nation's "gamethreads" which enabled fans to interact and chat with others in real time.

Samsung also offered the opportunity for people to win a new 55-inch television screen if they registered as a friend on Samsung's Facebook page. Those fans will also have the opportunity to attend quarter-finals viewing parties hosted by Samsung at two New York venues, Borstein says.

"What they [received] was the ability to reach fans in a more passionate and organic way," Borstein says. "Facebook played a big role as usual, [as a way to] promote and increase the fan base."